BtVS-Reviews@khom.de

Smooching the Darks

7.21. End of Days, Airdate: 05/14/03 (UPN, 8 pm PT/ET).

Angel is back on the team, yeah! First of all I have to apologize for not including as much feedback as I used to, but I had all kinds of
personal trouble since I returned from holiday, the foremost my teenage daughter being , well, away generally spoken. She lives with her mother,
and I try to see her every day, but when I came to see her for the last time, she wasn't there. Her mother thought, she'd stay with
me, and though police has been involved, there's still no sign of her. You surely understand that my thoughts are elsewhere, and that
my heart's aching and I'm full of fear. I will continue to write my reviews, however. I am doing that for four years now, and I just need to
direct my thoughts elsewhere for at least an hour a week. After posting, I'll go on tour again.

Honey, if you're out there somewhere and reading this, I just wanna say, I love you. I always have and I always will. There's nothing that can change
that. Life's not a song/Life isn't bliss/Life is just this/It's living/You'll get along/The pain that you feel /You only can heal/By living/
You have to go on living/So one of us is living.

Back to my review, and sorry folks, for any of you who could be offended by using my space for such private matters.
The big news this week: Angel's back, Caleb's dead and Buffy has a mystic weapon that even makes Caleb tremble and there's the guardians. Where do you want me begin?
Well, let's go for "last things first", shall we? I was so looking forward to Angel being back again, having watched season 3 lately (the
greates Buffy season, if you ask me) and feeling like he actually belongs there. I didn't feel like that, however. He seemed a bit, well,
too proud for my taste. It was like "Hey, I am big Angel, look at me in awe." All that "You're so gonna lose" and that over-romantic smooching,
it just didn't fit.

And why was Spike there? Why didn't he help Buffy if he was there earlier? Or did he see Angel and follow him? And the FE talking to him
again, please - please. Yes, Spike won't like Angel. Yes, he will be jealous, and yes again, there will be fun interaction between
Spike and Angel - that's what we all hope for. But not in a "die for kissing my girl" way, please don't.

The thing with the axe - Willow called it "scythe", but for me, it looks like an axe, what do you think? Anyway, it's old, it's mystic and Giles
hasn't heard of it before, so they have to hit enhanced research mode, pretty much Buffy cliche, but not in a bad way. It's the last time we
can enjoy it. Buffy later went to some pagan temple errected long before Sunnydale was built. And now, there's an interesting thing: right
there where we have the hellmouth, right on Sunnydale's very ground, a slayer once fought the last pure demon living on earth - with this axe.

Is it possible that the hellmouth was created that way? That it came into existence because a pure demon was fought with the mystical axe?
In season 3, the Mayor prepared his ascension - meaning, he wanted to become a pure demon, since all demons on earth are kinda "half demons",
half human, half demon. The Mayor founded Sunnydale right on this spot, because of the hellmouth, but also perhaps he knew, the last
demon was banned there - and is perhaps still luring on the other side of the hellmouth to be released?

And then there are the guardians. Women, that care for the slayer, and are on bad terms with the watchers, who followed the shadowmen.
There seem to be a couple of guardians, but now, there only is, sorry, was one. That's like the castle Duke Dracula occupied. By
altering reality, the monks accidentally inserted things that weren't there before - and even if you could explain Dracula by referring to
the monk's spell, the temple and the last Guardian hardly are to explain.

Yeah, they didn't want to leave hiding, before there was need, but why didn't she try to contact Buffy earlier, why was she just sitting
in her temple and waiting for Buffy to turn up? It's rather late now - and all that just for the sake of being "the last surprise"? I don't know,
seems queer.

However, it still seems possible, TPTB sent Buffy down to earth to act as the last guardian, as I said in my review of 7.15. It'll be
thrilling to see how it turns out. What do you think? Will Buffy be the guardian of the hellmouth, not the slayer? I guess, Faith's the actual slayer
and all that coming back from death, was about protecting the hellmouth. I am sure, Buffy will lose her powers after that, and thus, will
be the first slayer who will be able to retire and hand down her affairs to the next slayer in the line, perhaps Faith, if she makes it through
the finale.

There was little of Xander and Willow, too little this season, and I hope, we will see both of them some day on Angel, guest starring. I missed
them both, wondering why they didn't focus more on the core Scoobies this season.

Andrew and Anya... hey, this was fun. "You're the perfect woman." *snigger* Is she? Does she love humans? Will she survive? Anya, you're so great,
it's a shame you didn't have much to do this season as well. Anya's like Lorne. Hilarious characters, played by extraordinary actors, but
somehow rarely focussed on. Even Xander had his hours. I hope, in AtS season 5, they'll try not to overload the cast as much. Perhaps it's better to
have four or five persons, but to really focus in them in detail, really settling them into the story line.

How will the finale be like? Big fighting with the axe against... well, Caleb's dead now. It's a bit like on Angel. Jasmine dead on 4.21. - and what's
next? Close the hellmouth? With an axe? Well, we'll have to see. You know, what I think will happen... if not, read my review of 7.15. Just click on back
(see bottom) and choose my review of 7.15. GID. But: What do you think? I am looking forward to discussing your theories with you, for the
very last time!

By the way: Leoff, it isn't gluttelstof, it's glutal stop!

Shortcuts: BtVS 7.21. End of Days

What happened?
The bomb went off, the SIT's were hurt, and attacked by three ubervamps. They attacked one girl (together!) and gave Buffy plenty of time
to return and behead them in an axey way. Then, the gang discovered, there's an old temple in Sunnydale, Buffy went there, spoke to a woman
calling herself "guardian of the slayer". The axe was made to defeat the last pure demon walking on earth. Caleb kills the woman, Buffy kills
him, Angel turns up, they kiss - and Spike watches them from the shadows and gets talked to by the FE.

Topics addressed?
The storyline focussed on the axe as well on the general feeling of the apocalypse. And it shortly addressed the Angel-Spike-Buffy relationship.

Any strange things?
Why were three ubervamps going for one girl, when even a normal (but strong) vampire can take two of them? How come we never
heard of the temple before? Or of the guardians?

Was it good or not?
It was good, but could have been better. Three stakes out of five.

Axe: Carl asks: What's wrong with the staff? Why an axe? Why in stone? Well, perhaps because it's a fantasy series, and they
like to play around with legends?

Faith and the SIT's: Sara writes, well they got themselves in sooo much trouble, it isn't surprising they nearly (or actually)
died of it. She thinks, Faith will die, and Kennedy will become the actual slayer, since Willow won't lose her next girl-friend if
Joss wants to stay alive.